The Asian Male [1.AM] by Norm Yip2005, Hardcover.This book of beautifully sculpted male nudes is an example of just how fine photography books can be. The quality of the reproductions is near perfect with both black and white and richly full color images on the finest paper. The models (from from Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Korea and Malaysia) are not only beautiful; they also appear to be in complete communication with Yip's camera. The result is a group of sensuous, erotically-charged photographs that stand with the finest of portfolios of the male nude. Norm Yip is a refreshing new talent who here shares his work from 2000 to 2005.

The Gay Archipelago: Sexuality and Nation in Indonesia by Tom Boellstorff2005, Paperback.The first book-length exploration of the lives of gay men in Indonesia, the world's fourth most populous nation and home to more Muslims than any other country. It examines the history of homosexuality in Indonesia, and then turns to how gay and lesbian identities are lived in everyday Indonesian life, from questions of love, desire, and romance to the places where gay men and lesbian women meet. He also explores the roles of mass media, the state, and marriage in gay and lesbian identities.

Man's Best Friend: Inu Mo Aruke Ba Fall in Love (Yaoi) by Kazusa Takashima2006, Paperback.Three male love manga. Man's Best Friend tells the tale of a teen with a new pet dog who magically becomes a hunk and has sexual romps with his new master. Other stories focus on the budding love between two former childhood friends as they begin their adult lives.

Queer Japan from the Pacific War to the Internet Age (Asian Voices) by Mark McLelland2005, Paperback.Scholarship on Japan has recently broadened to include minority perspectives on communities from marginal workers to those whose sexuality has long been overlooked. This volume, with its combination of fieldwork in the gay and lesbian communities and the use of historical sources such as journals and documents, breaks important new ground in this field. It examines gay life in the Japanese Pacific War, addresses transgender and lesbian as well as gay issues, examines the interface of queer society with the U.S. occupation and the international community, contests major interpretations of contemporary queer society, and introduces readers to the development of lesbian, transgender, and gay communities in postwar Japan. Including a wealth of images from the perverse press, this book will appeal to students and general readers interested in modern and contemporary Japan and in gender studies and sexuality.

The Rice Queen Diaries by Daniel Gawthrop2005, Paperback.Part autobiography, part titillating sex novel, part scholarly treatise, the writer traces his attraction to Asian men from his early years in a small Canadian town, to Thailand and Vietnam, where he eventually realizes that the numerous sexual partners he has are the result of economic transactions born of the difference between the cultures of the individuals involved.

Utopia Guide to Asia2006, paperback.Utopia's guide to gay and lesbian life in 16 countries. Full listings for Philippines, Sri Lanka, Mongolia and Nepal as well as "best of" listings for select major cities around the region. A special section of the book highlights groups, clubs, and spaces that are especially welcoming for women. Collector's First Edition.

Utopia Guide to China (2nd Edition)2006, paperback.The updated and expanded 2nd edition of the first printed guidebook to the gay and lesbian scene in 50 Chinese cities including Beijing, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Macau, Shanghai, and Xian. Compiled by Utopia, listings include bars, discos, bookshops, spas, restaurants, and much more. Plus, a special section of highlights Chinese groups, clubs and spaces that are especially welcoming for women. Enjoy hundreds of savvy comments and recommendations from local Utopians and travelers who share their experiences and discoveries in rainbow China.

Utopia Guide to Japan, South Korea & Taiwan2006, paperback.Utopia has assembled the world's first travel guide to gay and lesbian life in Japan, South Korea and Taiwan. Listings include organizations, bars, discos, accommodations, spas, restaurants, and more. A special section of the book highlights groups, clubs, and businesses that are especially welcoming for women. Enjoy dozens of savvy comments and recommendations from local Utopians and gay travelers alike. The Utopia Guide to Japan, South Korea & Taiwan offers a landmark first look at East Asia's vibrant gay and lesbian scene.

Utopia Guide to Singapore, Malaysia & Indonesia2006, paperback.The first ever travel guide to gay and lesbian life in 60+ cities in Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia. Listings include organizations, bars, discos, accommodations, spas, restaurants, and more. A special section of the book highlights groups, clubs, and businesses that are especially welcoming for women. Enjoy hundreds of savvy comments and recommendations from local Utopians and gay travelers alike. The Utopia Guide to Singapore, Malaysia & Indonesia offers a landmark first look at Southeast Asia's vibrant gay and lesbian scene. Collector's First Edition.

Utopia Guide to Thailand2006, paperback.A comprehensive guide to contemporary gay and lesbian life in 18 Thai cities, including Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Phuket, Samui and Pattaya. Listings include organizations, bars, discos, accommodations, spas, restaurants, and more. Plus, a special section of the book highlights Thai groups, clubs, and spaces that are especially welcoming for women. Collector's First Edition.

Wild Rock (Yaoi) by Kazusa Takashima2006, Paperback.Emba and Yuuencome from two very different warring clans. When they meet, it's love at first sight. But the odds are stacked against this primitive Romeo and Romeo. A hot, new manga set in a fabulously fantastic prehistoric backdrop.

Asian and Gay Literature

Abraham's Promise by Philip Jeyaretnam1996, Paperback.The story of a teacher who learns to accept his son's homosexuality. Written, interestingly enough, by the son of Singapore's opposition leader.

Burden of Ashes by Justin Chin2002, Paperback.Floating somewhere between fiction and memoir, Malaysian American poet, performer, and writer Justin Chin has created a literary dreamscape in which the landscapes of childhood, homelands, bodies, lovers, and desires succumb to whimsy, revision, and denial. Don't even bother trying to figure out what is real and what is imagined-you would only frustrate yourself and miss the best parts. Allow yourself the luxury of floating here, wrapped in language and memory, in a place where killing snakes, stern discipline, family pets, and childhood vacations share equal time with unrequited love, the mournful specters of ex-lovers, imagined passions, and the enigmatic power of a good kiss.

Burnt Offerings by Timothy Liu1995, Paperback.Many of the poems in Liu's second collection bristle with sexual candor, but it isn't the blunt telling of interludes
held in an outhouse, in a public washroom, or even the one in an 18-wheeler that makes this work remarkable.
What distinguishes this poetry is Liu's deft handling of the graphic material, his skillful and taut braiding of it with an artful imagery and transcendent lyricism. Unsurprisingly, he's at his best when wrestling sexuality and the folly it engenders, when pinning down the animal half in well-wrought stanzas and subtle, soothing music.

Bite Hard by Justin Chin1997, Paperback."Witty, smart, and sexy. Chin, who was born in Malaysia, raised in Singapore, and now lives in San Francisco, explores his identity as an Asian, a gay man, a poet, and a lover, satirizing society's strictures and his own life experiences in stream-of-consciousness poems that deal with race, desire, and loss.

Calender Boy by Andy Quan
2001, Paperback.On the edge of adulthood, self-discovery and coming out, the protagonists of the short stories in Calendar Boy unravel cultural heritage, community, and identity on the road to love, happiness and self-acceptance. Set around the globe, fifteen adventurous stories weave fictions with real-life smarts, guts and oomph underpinning them. "How to Cook Chinese Rice," yields insight into what it's like to be young, Asian and queer. "Higher Learning" pitches a hormone-fueled, first-year university student into the alternate universe of a small community. A love triangle of sorts anchors "Maintenance," a story heavy with the ache of jealousy and unrequited desire. Throughout, Quan shifts gears effortlessly from street-smart colloquial voice to rapid-fire monologue to the bemused, exhilarated tone of immigrants new to gay male culture.

Cinnamon Gardens by Shyam Selvadurai2000, Paperback.An elegant novel. The evocative title comes from the name of a suburb of Colombo, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), in 1927. Follow the struggle of two finely drawn characters: a spirited young woman and a melancholy gay man who try to escape the tyranny of parents and British mentors and achieve a lonely inner freedom. From the author of Funny Boy.

Cultural Revolution by Norman Wong
1995, Paperback.Four generations of a family that evolves from Chinese to Chinese-American. Michael discovers early on that he is attracted to white males, including a serious crush on his track coach. With rich images and subtle, beautiful prose, Cultural Revolution tells a classic story of immigrant family ties and coming of age in a unique new voice: that of a gay Chinese-American man.

Edinburgh by Alexander Chee2001, Paperback.'Edinburgh,' is an exceptional debut novel by Alexander Chee that tells the story of a gay Korean-American youth, Aphias Zhe, nicknamed Fee, who survives sexual abuse by his choir director. Fee embarks on a bizarre journey to find his identity, exploring his bisexuality while dabbling in drugs until he finally learns that his own absent father is also an imprisoned pedophile. Fee seems to settle down when he finally finds a partner, an athletic man named Bridey who was one of his school conquests, but he finds himself shaken to his core when the choir director's son turns up in his life and he is seized by an instant but deadly attraction. Chee is a gifted, poetic writer who takes big risks, from the background and sexual orientation of his protagonist to the chapters dealing with drugs, pedophilia and casual sex with grace and unflinching honesty.

Fetish by John Yau1998, Paperback.A hip, high-smut collection of eccentric erotica. Yau's faith in the universal erotic appeal of a well-told tale undeniably provides something to arouse everyone. This anthology of stories gives face -- no matter how revolting -- to the underbelly of desire. Saucy and smart from cover to cover.

Harmless Medicine by Justin Chin2001, Paperback.Marked by maturity and poetic vision, Harmless Medicine is fiercely devoted to the margins of queer life in the generation after the first wave of the AIDS epidemic. In more than 40 pieces, Chin fearlessly delivers everything from his first exposure to science (“Magnified”) to a mail order fantasy experience (“I Buy Sea Monkeys”); from backroads travel in Asia (“Little Everest in Your Palm”) to the plight of immigrants in America (“The Men’s Restroom at the INS Building”). Chin’s brutal honesty and sharp humor frame a profound and original collection.

Mongrel: Essays, Diatribes, Pranks by Justin Chin1998, Paperback.Taunts and musings on everything from the how to eat pancakes to 'rice queens' to anal fissures. Chin takes on all topics fearlessly--his dissection of professional white Buddhists is simultaneously shockingly flippant and profoundly insightful--and he always manages to surprise or startle. Mongrel is a smart, witty, and rattling tour through the life of a young gay man.

Naked Asia: Photographs of Asian American Men by Clifford Baker2003, Paperback.Photographer Cliffor Baker's latest title is comprised of color and black-and-white photographs of single subjects, duos and groups. There are short quotations from the work of Yukio Mishima which accompany some of the gorgeous photography.

Ode to Lata by Ghalib Shiraz Dhalla
2002, Paperback.Ali, a young Muslin gay man, is a Los Angeles banker by day and a denizen of West Hollywood's bars, gyms, and sex clubs at night. He enters into into steamy sexual encounters with ease, but he winds up feeling longing for some sort of normalcy. When his mother comes for an extended visit, Ali experiences mixed feelings of comfort, gratitude, and frustration. Afterward, relations with his self-selected family of his best friend, a South Asian organization he helped found, and an AIDS outreach program seem in constant flux. After a series of bad decisions, Ali comes to terms with himself and how he arrived where he is. Dhalla turns gay life from cliche to reality as few other novelists have as he tells Ali's story in a racy, edgy manner that is delicious to read.

Say Goodnight by Timothy Liu1998, Paperback.Liu's third collection of mostly imagistic verse discovers the sacred in earthly things, the poet having lost his faith long ago. The weight bears against the poet's homosexuality, which forms the subject of Liu's more narrative verse as he cruises the beaches of Cape Cod, stalks the video-porn booths of Manhattan's Chelsea, and marches in pride in Washington. Frank sexual poems meant to shock describe his lover's coprophilia, their golden showers, fisting at bars, and an anus that speaks to the poet. Liu's best poems rely on Zen-like aphorisms that remind us to "hoard kisses while they last."

Slant by Andy Quan
2001, Paperback.Sharp, accessible and witty, "Slant" offers a fresh exploration of issues of race, sexuality, and life in the global village. The collection alternates between three main themes of childhood and family in the Chinese diaspora; gay sexuality, community and rites-of-passage; and voyages literal and metaphorical. Slant asks "how do we belong?" and answers in a voice that is compelling and unique.

A Thousand Wings by T. C. Huo1998, Hardcover.A Laotian refugee, resettled in California, achieves success and security as a chef and cookbook author, effectively burying his memories of enduring, then escaping, his
beleaguered homeland's political chaos. Then, a handsome young Asian countryman whom Fong Mun meets at a dinner party he's catering, solicits his life story, and the memories tumble forth in scenes juxtaposed against the pair's evening together--first in the kitchen, then in bed.

Vox Angelica by Timothy Liu1992, Paperback.Timothy Liu is a gay Asian American poet, born and raised in San Jose, California by immigrant parents from mainland China. Vox Angelica received the 1992 Norma Farber First Book Award.

China

Beijing: A Novel by Philip Gambone2003, Hardcover.David accepts a one-year position at a Western medical clinic in Beijing. Lonely but excited, he sets out to explore the city -- both its bustling street life and its clandestine gay subculture. David chronicles his adventures in China as he wrestles with cultural dislocation, loneliness, and sexual and spiritual longing. After a series of both comic and poignant encounters with gay Chinese men, he meets Bosheng, a handsome young artist. Though the attraction is strong, Bosheng returns to his ancestral village to marry the girl his parents have chosen for him. Eventually, David and Bosheng reconnect and share an idyllic spring together. As the year ends, David must decide whether to say goodbye or face the uncertainties of a long-distance relationship.

The Emerging Lesbian: Female Same-Sex Desire in Modern China by Tze-Lan D. Sang2003, Paperback.In early 20th-century China, age-old traditions of homosocial and homoerotic relationships between women suddenly became an issue of widespread public concern. Discussed formerly in terms of friendship and sisterhood, these relations came to be associated with feminism, on the one hand, and psychobiological perversion, on the other. In this first ever book-length study of Chinese lesbians, Tze-lan D. Sang convincingly ties the debate over female same-sex love in China to the emergence of Chinese modernity. As women's participation in social, economic and political affairs grew, Sang argues, so too did the social significance of their romantic and sexual relations. Focusing especially on literature by or about women-preferring women, Sang traces the history of female same-sex relations in China from the late imperial period (1600-1911) through the Republiican era (1912-1949).

Farewell My Concubine by Lilian Lee1994, Paperback.Beginning amid the decadent glamour of China in the 1930s and ending in 1980s Hong Kong, this brilliant novel, which formed the basis for the award-winning movie, is the passionate story of a brilliant male stage performer who falls in love with his best friend and stage parter, and the beautiful courtesan who comes between them.click here

Homoerotic Sensibilities in Late Imperial China by Wu Cuncun2004, Hardcover.The richest exploration to date of late imperial Chinese literati interest in male love. Employing primary sources such as miscellanies (including diaries and letters), poetry, fiction and 'flower guides', Wu Cuncun argues that male homoeroticism played a central role in the cultural life of late imperial Chinese literati elites.

Andrew and Joey by Jamie James2003, Paperback.Love, lies, and sex in the age of email! Joey is a rising star in the New York dance world. He moves to Bali with his Chinese-American boyfriend, Andrew, on a grant to study the island's ritual dance and fulfill his dream of creating a cross-cultural masterwork. As Andrew sets up home with plans to work on a novel, Joey becomes (literally) bewitched and ravished by a charismatic teenaged dancer, Wayan, and everyone's lives abruptly begin to unravel. Alternatively hilarious and mortifying, the story is told entirely through email correspondence between the lovers, their friends, family, and the gossipy world of high culture mavens who thrive on the increasingly sensational scandal. Newsweek calls it, "a fun novel that's quick and pleasurable to read, not least because it gives you the voyeur's thrill of trawling through all those private e-mails."

Japan

Coming Out in Japan by Satoru Ito and Ryuta Yanase2001, Paperback.This landmark book presents the personal struggles of two gay activists who have publicly declared their homosexuality and dedicated their lives to combating the discrimination and prejudice directed at same sex relationships in Japan. Their narratives give a human focus to the struggle for social recognition and dignity being waged by homosexuals in Japan.

Comrade Loves of the Samurai by Saikaku Ihara1972, Paperback.Here's what titillated the everyday reader in pre-modern Japan. Lurid, hilarious, romantic, fierce -- Saikaku Ihara was a master of capturing human entanglements in all their naked fascination.

Confessions of a Mask by Yukio Mishima1988, Paperback.Mishima's gay coming-of-age novel with its famous scenes of erotic awakening. Mishima describes in vivid detail the inner conflicts of
growing up gay in a the war-time era of Japan.

Gay Tales of the Samurai by Saikaku Ihara1995, Paperback.Eye-opening translations of all-male love affairs which were read as popular literature by the masses in 17th and 18th century Japan. Fresh and unique, even after so many generations.

The Great Mirror of Male Love by Saikaku Ihara1991, Hardcover.Annotated collection of 40 short stories regarding the homosexual love affairs between samurai, kabuki actors, noblemen, monks and beggars.

Kenzo: a Tokyo Story by Ross Davy1986, Paperback.A classic, long out of print! A stunning novel filled with superbly written, almost hallucinatory, passages. "Though Misa kept his eyes closed his altered breathing told Kenzo he too was awake. Misa waited on the other side of the door of his body. Misa gradually opened out at the polite insistance of Kenzo's hands. The white centre of him came out again up Kenzo's arm and side. Almost simultaneously Kenzo was ejecting white loops and buds coming down in loose gob relaxations Kenzo almost relaxed, a kite on water, biting only soft water."

The Life and Death of Yukio Mishima by Henry Scott-Stokes1995, Paperback.Author, model, actor, body-builder, samurai, father, faggot, sensation -- Yukio Mishima's lurid literature and his blood-drenched
epic failure to resurrect an army of male lovers has insured his place in the Homosexual Hall of Fame as well as the Japanese firmament of failed heros.

Male Colors : The Construction of Homosexuality in Tokugawa Japan by Gary P. Leupp1997, Paperback.From the 17th-19th centuries, homosexual behavior in Japan was broadly common and positively celebrated in popular art and literature. This book explores the complex and varied world of same-sex desire in an early modern Asian culture untouched by European psychiatric discourse.

Male Homosexuality in Modern Japan: Cultural Myths and Social Realities by Mark J. McLelland2000, Paperback.This study is the first to look at the wide range of contrasting images of the homosexual male body in Japanese popular culture, both mainstream and gay, and relate these images to the experience of an interview sample of Japanese gay men. It analyzes the many different and contrasting images of the homosexual male body which occur throughout Japanese popular culture in books, magazines, comics, newspapers, television, theatre, film, and the Internet.

Sadao Hasegawa by Sadao Hasegawa1996, Paperback.Collected works by the late artist, Japan's premiere gay erotic illustrator! Luxurious and hard-to-find early collection of Hasegawa's stylish explorations of hair, blood, muscle, cocks, and the spiritual paradise of male love.

Takarazuka : Sexual Politics and Popular Culture in Modern Japan by Jennifer Ellen Robertson1998, Paperback.The all-female Takarazuka Revue, founded in 1913 as a novel counterpart to the all-male Kabuki theater, is world-famous today for its rococcco musical productions, including gender-bending love stories, torridly romantic liaisons in foreign settings, and fanatically devoted fans. A fascinating exploration of how the Revue illuminates sexual politics, nationalism, imperialism, modernity, and popular culture in twentieth-century Japan.

Tokyo Vanilla by Thomas Boggs1998, Paperback.A fascinating and rare glimpse into the rarified world of Japanese gay hustling, in an ambivalent society detatched from its traditional values. Teenage Fumio spies on the lovemaking of his girl-crazy neighbor, Tatsuya, awakening a secret desire for the bodies of other men. Exploring the underground world of gay life in Tokyo, Fumio finds himself emulating the lifestyle of his mentor and true love, Tatsuya. He becomes the kept-boy of a rich, old university professor who eventually convinces Fumio to marry his daughter and become his adopted son. Fumio eventually admits his true inclinations to his wife, whom he then introduces to the shadow world of homosexuals.

Malaysia

The Mak Nyahs: Malaysian Male to Female Transsexuals by Teh Yik Koon2003, Paperback.Mak nyahs are the male to female transsexuals of Malaysia and are estimated to number some ten thousand. This is the first comprehensive account of mak nyahs and their pattern of life. Chapters on the history and definition of transsexualism and on studies done in other countries and in Malaysia are followed by an overview of the methodology of this research. Based on formal and informal contact with 500 mak nyahs, the author talks about the daily life and aspirations of mak nyahs and the ways in which they are marginalized. Religious teaching and attitudes, community and voluntary support, police policies and many reminiscences from mak nyahs themselves shed light on this often much-maligned group of Southeast Asian society.

Flipping by Ricardo Ramos1998, Paperback.An in-your-face, raw, outrageously funny, nasty and very politically Incorrect story of Napoleon, a Filipino-American queen in search of a 100% MAN. Along the way meet Felipe, Napoleon's "gay not" nephew, the hot Filipino Prince, man-eating spirits called manamot, and the fable about the Warrior and the Bakla.

Rolling the R's by R. Zamora Linmark1997, Paperback.Tales of religion-damaged, TV-addicted, love-starved
straight and queer kids in a style that combines the comic pitch of a drag queen with crazed,
daredevil prose, in a dense and startlingly beautiful pidgin dialect. Linmark nails the excitement and terror of being young with a rare and moving accuracy.

Taiwan

Angelwings: Contemporary Queer Fiction from Taiwan by Fran Martin2003, Paperback.Lesbian and gay fiction (known in Mandarin as tongzhi wenxue) constitutes a major contribution to Taiwanese literature, as evidenced by the remarkable number of prestigious literary awards won by many of the authors of the short stories presented here. Indeed, the meteoric rise of this new genre was a defining feature of Taiwan's literary scene in the 1990s. Most strikingly, this fiction has been immensely popular with general readers in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Singapore, as well as in diasporic Chinese communities worldwide. The startlingly fresh, brave voices that speak through these stories attest to the powerful social and sexual ferment of the past ten years in Taiwan.

Crystal Boys by Pai Hsieng-Yung1990, Paperback.Taiwan's groundbreaking 1st gay novel. Vivid and compelling book about the lives of a group teenage hustlers. A-Qing is an intelligent 18-year-old whose father kicked him out when he had been caught "in an immoral act" in school. He discovers the underground world of gay sub-culture, filled with unforgettable characters and becomes lovers with a shadowy figure whose legend is whispered amongst the denizens of the night cruise park.

Notes of a Desolate Man by Tien-Wen Chu1999, Hardcover.Gorgeous writing in this wonderful translation. Moving tale of Shao, a well-educated Taiwanese gay man of 40 who has recently lost his dearest friend, Ah Yao, to AIDS. Winner of the China Times Novel Prize.

Situating Sexualities: Queer Representation in Taiwanese Fiction, Film and Public Culture by Fran Martin
2003, hardcover.This is the first book in English to analyse the stunning rise of cultures of dissident sexuality in Taiwan during the 1990s. It approaches the queer sexualities represented in recent Taiwanese fiction, film and public culture as dynamic formations that combine local knowledge with globalizing discourses on gay and lesbian identity to produce sexualities that are multiple, shifting and inherently hybrid. The book challenges the Eurocentrism of much queer theory to date. Consistently critical of essentializing accounts of 'Chinese' culture, it highlights some of the important ways in which Taiwanese formations of dissident sexuality differ from the familiar Euro-American formations.

The Dove Coos II: Gay Experiences by the Men of Thailand Edited by David Jonathan and E.G.Allyn1994, Paperback.More Thai erotic encounters translated into English, but preserving their unique styles, playful sexuality, poetic descriptions, and joyful sense of humor. True-life gay experiences include Five Young Buffalo, Draining the Dragon, Tree-Planting Ceremony, Brotherly Love, Stabbing the Thief, and Steal the Husband While the Wife is Careless, plus dozens more!

Gold by the Inch by Lawrence Chua1998, Paperback.This remarkable debut novel stylishly explores the shifting boundaries between sex and commerce, East and West, culture and identity. A 23-year-old gay man of SE Asian descent returns to Thailand during the wild economic boom. He offs a handsome prostitute and becomes increasingly obsessed with squeezing something like love from the disintegrating affair. Drifting in and out of a drug-induced numbness, he confronts issues he has long avoided: identity, exploitation, materialism, and the gritty, flesh-strewn battle zone where Asia and the West collide. Recommended!

Intrinsic Quality of Skin by Peter A. Jackson1994, Paperback.A series of frankly erotic encounters with Thai men -- including the upcountry hunk Wiset, the sadistic Ari, an unnamed hustler at Hotel 67 and a bisexual rural farmer -- as the narrator attempts to assimilate into an alien culture he has become obsessed with. A personal journey of self-exploration and an attempt to bridge a cultural gap which somehow cannot be crossed.

Making Out in Thai by John Clewley1996 Edition, Paperback.At last, the Thai phrases that you really need to know! Useful and fun phrases that you won't find in other books, like "We should only have safe sex", "Let's get drunk!", "How do you want me to do it?", "That hurts!", and "Can we still be friends?"

The Poison River
Steve Raymond1994, Paperback.True story of an American businessman arrested in Thailand, jailed on cooked-up charges of child abuse, abandoned by his Embassy, and imprisoned for two years at the request of the US government.

Toms and Dees: Transgender Identity and Female Same-Sex Relationships in Thailand by Megan J. Sinnott2004, Paperback.A vibrant, growing, and highly visible set of female identities has emerged in Thailand known as tom and dee. A "tom" (from "tomboy") refers to a masculine woman who is sexually involved with a feminine partner, or "dee" (from "lady"). Drawing on a broad spectrum of anthropological literature, Sinnott explores Thai tom and dee subculture within the global trend of increasingly hybridized sexual and gender identities. Based on seven years of fieldwork, this empirically rich study explores this growing community in Thailand. Thai toms and dees speak in their own voices about their identities, their relationships, and their struggles over the meanings of masculinity and femininity.

Vacuum-Packed by Robin Newbold2003, Paperback.Jamie and Craig, two gay men in their early 20s, struggle through the stark and ugly final years of the 20th century on a morbidly fascinating journey of self-indulgence. For Jamie it is just one more let-down in a life full of disappointments. He yearns to be hip and magazine-cool but, while he is cute and buff, there's always someone hotter around to spoil his ego-trip. Failing to live up to his own socio-economic expectations he finds it easier to get lost in a haze of drugs and alcohol. Craig, hurt and disillusioned, boards a plane for Bangkok's notorious gay life and quickly immerses himself, from the steamy corridors of Babylon sauna to the Big Mango's lust-filled sweet shops, where he self-destructively gorges. Well written, with a confident voice and remarkable descriptive details, the novel doesn't flinch from the demoralizing, sour taste in the mouth after sampling Craig and Jamie’s world.

Vietnam

The Innocent by Robert Taylor1997, Paperback.An eloquent journey through the Vietnam War, seen through the eyes of a gay office administrator, including a tenderly rendered affair with a young Vietnamese.

South Asia

Bombay Talkie: A Novel by Ameena Meer1994, Paperback."Highlighting the cultural dissonance experienced by today's 'Indibrats.' who, like their European counterparts, seek sensation and sexual adventure in discos, gay bars, and an updated version of traditional stag evenings in which the girls are boys."

Funny Boy by Shyam Selvadurai1997, Paperback.A homosexual boy's bittersweet passage to maturity is hauntingly set against growing political tensions in Sri Lanka. The second son of a privileged family in Sri Lanka, Arjie prefers staging make-believe weddings with his female cousins than batting balls with the other boys. When his parents discover his innocent pastime, Arjie is forced to abandon his idyllic childhood games and adopt the rigid rules of the adult world. Bewildered by his incipient sexual awakening, Arjie painfully grows toward manhood and an understanding of his own "different" identity.

Gender Diversity: Crosscultural Variations by Serena Nanda1999, Paperback.Serena Nanda uses ethnographic accounts to illustrate how diverse cultures construct their sex/gender systems. By doing so, she reveals that these systems are not always binary; male and female, man and woman. Her descriptions of masculinity and femininity in India, Brazil, Polynesia, Thailand, the Philippines, within some Native American tribes and in contemporary Euro-American cultures challenge what some believe is "natural" about gender and, by extension, sexuality. By presenting gender variations historically and as they are currently understood and displayed, Nanda reveals the social, historical and cultural forces that have created changes in these sex/gender systems.

The Invisibles : A Tale of the Eunuchs of India by Zia Jaffrey1998, Paperback.In this superb work of investigative reporting, Zia Jaffrey pursues the riddle of India's most elusive subculture, the cross-dressing and often-castrated figures known as "hijras" whose very name means neither male nor female. Are the hijras lucky or dangerous? Are they a nurturing community of outcasts or a criminal network that kidnaps and mutilates recruits? Do they number in the thousands or in the millions? As she talks with policemen, a unionizer of eunuchs, and with the hijras themselves, Jaffrey unravels veils of rumor and deception to locate the nature of our sexual and social thresholds, and the people who dwell on them.

Love in a Different Climate: Men Who Have Sex With Men in India by Jeremy Seabrook2001, Paperback.Sexual histories and stories of denizens of cruise parks where men go to find no-fuss intimacy unrelated to the world of self-identified gays. While raving against an international gay identity which threatens colonize these all-male gardens of Eden, the author never-the-less trys to lump a small sampling of south Asian MSM traditions under the label "Indian". Still, the personal stories are fascinating to read.

Made in India: Decolonizations, Queer Sexualities, Trans/national Projects by Suparna Bhaskaran2004, Paperback.Made In India explores the making of queer consciousness and identities in light of economic privatization, global condom enterprises, sexuality-focused NGOs, the Bollywood-ization of beauty contests, and activism. Indispensable reading for anyone interested in the radical transformation of what it means to be queer."--

Neither Man Nor Woman : The Hijras of India by Serena Nanda1998, Paperback.A classic, absolutely fascinating study of the transvestite eunuch hijras of India. Combining objectivity with sympathy and respect, the writer allows us to glimpse the feelings and aspirations of these people, whose lives encompass joy, sadness, degradation, liberation, hope. The reader comes to know the hijras as real people while gaining an understanding of a very ancient and significant way of life. Nanda's lucid writing and subtle insights are augmented by a marvelous collection of color photographs and vivid case histories, including numerous first person accounts.

Queering India: Same-Sex Love and Eroticism in Indian Culture and Society
edited by Ruth Vanita2001, Paperback.Little is known about same-sex love and eroticism in Indian culture, but this once forbidden subject is slowly receiving more attention. Here for the first time, this largely uninvestigated area of Indian culture is uncovered in Vanita's provocative collection of original essays. The topics are wide-ranging, covering film, literature, popular culture, historical and religious texts, law, and other aspects of life in India. With a comprehensive scope, contributors discuss a diverse range of examples, including the recent controversial lesbian film, Fire; a case of same-sex love and murder in colonial India; homophobic fiction and homoerotic advertising in current day India; lesbian subtext in Hindu scripture; and queering the Kama Sutra.

Red Threads : The South Asian Queer Connection in Photographs by by Poulomi Desai and Parminder Sekhon2004, Paperback.The British Asian Queer experience is intimately documented, exploring themes of race, identity, sexuality and culture. It ultimately presents the reader and viewer with positive and vibrant images of queer visibility through documnetary images of two lesbian phtographers and three essays by Sunil Gupta, Raman Mundair and Cherry Smyth. Depicted are people who don't fit into boxes: queer Asian Brits, queens in Bollywood drag, women in men's suits or naked in the street.

Same-Sex Love in India: Readings from Literature and History edited by Salim Kidwai and Ruth Vanita2001, Hardcover.Same-Sex Love in India presents a stunning array of writings on same-sex love from over 2000 years of Indian literature. Translated from more than a dozen languages and drawn from Hindu, Buddhist, Muslim, and modern fictional traditions, these writings testify to the presence of same-sex love in various forms since ancient times, without overt persecution. Selections range from religious books, legal and erotic treatises, story cycles, medieval histories and biographies, modern novels, short stories, letters, memoirs, plays and poems. From the Rigveda to Vikram Seth, this anthology will become a staple in courses on gender and queer studies, Asian studies, and world literature. Lambda literary award finalist.

Shiva and Arun by P. Parivaraj1998, Paperback.In the south Indian town of Chitana, two boys discover early on the pleasures of gay sex. Shiva's family are upper-caste Brahmins; his father is the temple pujari, a wealthy hereditary priest. Shiva plans to break away from home and tradition, but finds his life in turmoil when his marraige is arranged. His school friend Arun faces similar problems, but struggles to maintain his own identity while Shiva succumbs to family pressure. Vivid sex and gentle humour spice this tale of contraditions in the life of India today.

Black Feathers : Erotic Dreams by Cecilia Tan1998, Paperback.A collection of 23 fantastic tales devoted to erotic worship. Tan's hot, twisty stories explore a broad pallete of sex and seduction from Lesbian vampires and latex, to burning candle and an Idaho potato swathed in a condom. In 'Heart's Desire,' the narrator must whip an S/M boy at a lesbian party before she can free and own him; and in 'Pearl Diver,' a virgin dives by moonlight to collect large pearls in her vagina to provoke visions.

Cowrie by Cathie Dunsford1994, papwerback.Fresh, sexy and sensual. Cowrie travels to Hawaii, home of her grandfather. As she circles the island in an old pick-up truck we discover the tokens of her heritage that link her mysteriously to Laukimanuikahiki, the turtle woman. Sensual and sexual language draw life from the earth and ocean, and Cowrie too, tests the limits of her endurance and explores erotic connection with land and sea.

Exile and the Heart : Lesbian Fiction by Tamai Kobayashi1998, Paperback.A beautifully written series of interlocked stories about a small group of women, all either friends, family, or exlovers. Kobayashi evokes in a sort of poetic fire clearly the sometimes joyful, sometimes painful ties people have with each other. Even though the characters are women and most are lesbians, the overall story can clearly portray parallels in any family unit.

Red Azalea by Anchee Min1995, Paperback.A Chinese lesbian's coming-of-age during the Cultural Revolution and her relationship with a woman while working on a collective farm. Anchee Min recounts her suppressed life growing up in Shanghai during the late fifties and sixties.

Asian Americans: The Movement and the Moment Edited by Steven G Louie, Glenn K. Omatsu, and Steve Louie2001, Paperback.This book documents the rich, little-known history of Asian American social activism during the years 1965-2001, including an essay by civil rights and gay activist, Daniel C. Tsang, who highlights three decades of gay and lesbian Asian-American political organizing.

Gay and Lesbian Asia: Culture, Identity, Community edited by Gerard Sullivan and Peter Jackson2001, Paperback.This book considers the diversity of GLBT identities in countries including Korea, Thailand, China, Malaysia, India, Singapore, and the Philippines. Although many Asian cultures borrow the language of the West when discussing queerness, the attitudes, relationships, and roles described are quite different. Some of the topics included in this volume are globalization theory in the context of the Western gay identity movement, Foucauldian discourse on sexuality and distinct erotic cultures, the formation of gay cybercommunities in Asia, the effects of film and video images, class distinctions on Jakarta lesbians, and political and cultural analyses of gay and lesbian comradeship and filial relationships in Chinese societies. The majority of these essays are by Asian scholars.

Homosexual Rights As Human Rights: Activism in Indonesia, Singapore and Australia by Baden Offord2003, Paperback.The book interrogates the homosexual activist and the theory and practice of human rights in three distinct nations: Indonesia, Singapore and Australia. It discusses and analyses the ways in which activists in these three polities devise strategies of survival and negotiate the limits of justice. The interface between Australia and Southeast Asia is a poignant event/context, which highlights different (Western and Asian) perspectives on notions of rights, law, identity, activism, culture and sexuality.

Mobile Cultures: New Media in Queer Asia by Chris Berry, Fran Martin, and Audrey Yue2003, Paperback.The availability and use of new media—fax machines, mobile phones, the Internet, electronic message boards, pagers, and global television—have grown exponentially in Asia over the past decade. This explosion of information technology has enabled the creation of communities and the expression of sexual identities in a region notorious for the regulation of both information and sexual conduct. The essays collected here emphasize the enormous variance in the appeal and uses of new media from one locale to another. Scholars, artists, and activists from a range of countries, the contributors chronicle the different ways new media galvanize Asian queer communities in Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, India, and around the world.

'O Au No Keia: Voices from Hawai'I's Mahu and Transgender Communities by Andrew Matzner
2001, Paperback.A collection of oral histories from fifteen male-to-female transgendered people. By sharing their stories, the contributors (who are of different ages, classes, and ethnic backgrounds) allow us to begin to understand what it means to live outside gender norms in a place most outsiders view as "paradise."

Queer Dharma : Voices of Gay Buddhists Edited by Winston Leyland1998, Paperback.A groundbreaking collection of essays, fiction and poetry by 30 gay men who write about the integration of spirituality and sexual identity in their lives, through the practice of Buddhism.

Queer PAPI Porn Edited by Joel Tan1998, Paperback.A sexy and fascinating collection of erotic fiction by and about Queer Pilipino, Asian and Pacific Islander men (thus the acronym P.A.P.I). Hard strokin' stories about queer men from diverse communities and experiences. Grab it!

Racial Castration: Managing Masculinity in Asian America (Perverse Modernities) by David L. Eng2001, Paperback.The first book to bring together the fields of Asian American studies and psychoanalytic theory, explores the role of sexuality in racial formation and the place of race in sexual identity. David L. Eng examines images—literary, visual, and filmic—that configure past as well as contemporary perceptions of Asian American men as emasculated, homosexualized, or queer.

Restoried Selves: Autobiographies of Queer Asian-Pacific-American Activists by Kevin K., Ph.D. Kumashiro2003, Paperback.First-person accounts of 20 activists--life stories that work
against common stereotypes, shattering misconceptions and dispelling
misinformation. These autobiographies challenge familial and cultural
expectations and values that have traditionally forced lesbian, bisexual,
gay, transgender, intersexed, and queer Asian/Pacific Americans into silent
shame because of their sexual and/or racial identities. Authors share not
only their experiences growing up but also how those experiences led them to
become social activists, speaking out against oppression.
Many voices are heard: lesbian, gay male, bisexual (male and female), transgender and intersex. Ethnic experiences represented include Nepali, Filipino, Chinese, Vietnamese, Japanese, and more, including individuals who identify as bi- or multi-ethnic.

Take Out Edited by by Quang Bao, Hanya Yanagihara, and Timothy Liu2001, Hardcover.Showcasing new work, Take Out captures the freshness of contemporary expressive culture in queer Asian Pacific America. It brings together established and emerging artists to define their personal and collective vision as gays and lesbians. The visual, literary, and performance works in this anthology probe a variety of topics: inter-generational relationships, domesticity, pop culture, camp, Hollywood, fairy tales, and Asia. Take Out resists summary just as its contributors refuse limits on their artistic expression and attempts to objectify them as people.

QUNCI VILLAS, a gay-friendly, gay-managed tropical resort on the heavenly island of Lombak, just next to Bali...